Examining Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten Jr.’s new homes

Former Huskies Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten Jr. were selected in the first round of the NBA Draft last night, the first time ever two UW players were selected so highly. Ross went eighth overall to Toronto, if anything a few spots earlier than most predicted, and Wroten went 25th overall to Memphis.

Terrence Ross shakes hands with NBA commissioner David Stern after being selected with the eighth overall pick in Thursday's NBA Draft. (Elsa/Getty Images)

It’s always easy to assume that the best thing for every player is to be drafted as high as possible. Yet that’s not always the case; in the grand scheme of a player’s career, it’s often more important to go into a good situation then to be a top-10 pick.

Luckily for both Ross and Wroten, their respective new franchises both appear to be an excellent fit.

Let’s go a little bit more in-depth into what the duo should expect when their rookie years begin come November.

Ross goes to a Raptors team that ranked 28th in the NBA in scoring last year and for which Alan Anderson, Gary Forbes, and James Johnson — not exactly a who’s who of current NBA superstars — all started games on the wing near the end of last season. Admittedly, Toronto was tanking to better its chances of ending up with a player of Ross’s caliber, but the fact remains that this a squad starving for perimeter help.

If the Raptors choose to stand pat in free agency when it comes to wings, Ross would appear on track to start at shooting guard while DeMar Derozan, a former top-10 pick out of USC, slides over to small forward. DeRozan’s 26 percent shooting from deep last season doesn’t cut it at the two for a team in such desperate need of some scoring punch.

Toronto has also made it well-known the franchise intends to do its best to woo free-agent point guard Steve Nash, who was born in British Columbia, back to his native country. The presence of a two-time MVP running the show would figure to do wonders for the development of both Ross and DeRozan, and could turn the Raptors, who already feature former No. 1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani at power forward and will bring 2011 first-round pick Jonas Valanciunas over from Lithuania in the near future, into one of the more potent young teams in the Eastern Conference.

There’s a good chance, though, Nash will instead sign with a team that gives the 38-year-old a better chance at winning a title. That could mean Toronto instead sets its sights on a veteran point guard of a slightly lesser pedigree, such as Andre Miller or Raymond Felton. The tandem of Jose Calderon and Ben Uzoh, currently the only point guards on the Raptors’ roster, simply isn’t going to cut it.

Wroten, meanwhile, goes to a situation with many more pieces already in place. The Grizzlies have made back-to-back trips to the playoffs led by the nucleus of Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, and all five will return to Memphis next season. The Grizzlies’ sixth man last season, shooting guard O.J. Mayo, is one of the better sources of instant offense in the league, but he will be a free agent this offseason.

Assuming Mayo’s departure, Wroten’s role in Memphis figures to be more of an all-purpose guard off the bench than a traditional point guard. The Grizzlies’ experiment of signing Gilbert Arenas to fill a similar role last season was a failure, leaving the team in serious want of energy and hounding defense off the bench. Paired with Allen, Wroten could give the Grizzlies one of the best defensive backcourts in the NBA; paired with Conley, he could give them a pair of dynamic left-handed guards that can each get into the lane almost at will.

Allen and Conley are also two near-perfect mentors for Wroten. Wroten already plays defense with a passion, but few people in the league guard harder than Allen. And Conley can certainly help Wroten learn what it takes to run an NBA team.

In Toronto, Ross will be a key component of what still looks to be a major rebuilding job ahead. In Memphis, Wroten will bring his unique skill set to an already established veteran squad.

But both have been put into positions that should be conducive to their success.